4K restoration in US theaters 11/06/2026
When she joins a man and his three concubines as the fourth “sister”, a young woman discovers the reality she signed up for including scheming, jealousy, and backstabbing.
Based on the novel “Wives and Concubines” by Tong Su and written for the screen by Ni Zhen with Yimou Zhang directing, this earlier work by the director of Shadow, House of Flying Daggers, and Hero, shows that his style and story selections were always interesting and done with careful attention to details. The writing here is good, the base material looking to be solid, and the direction works great for the story, giving the viewer a straight to the point takes on things and allowing the characters and decor to shine. The directional fluff often seen in these kinds of films is kept to a minimum, and the focus is maintained onto the lead character and her actions.
Gong Li as Songlian is magnificent. She’s poised, cunning, charming, and quite effective. She starts off innocent-looking and keeps the external appearance for a while as she adjusts to her new environment. Her performance carries the film and sells every single emotion. Lin Kong as Yan’er steals a few scenes, or rather ever single scene she is in. She gives a more emotionally explosive performance and she’s the center of attention no matter who she shares the screen with. Her performance shows so much talent. The two of them are at odds often, and it works for the better of the film. The cast overall is solid here, so pointing out each good performance would have us sitting here for a few days.
The wardrobe by Huamiao Tong is pretty, done with stunning fabrics and craftsmanship, allowing each character to have her own style while keeping the spirit of the era represented. The film’s art direction by Jiuping Cao and Dong Huamiao is pretty while keeping a sober tone to things, giving space for the red lanterns to shine, lit or not. Their work is showcased beautifully by cinematographers Lun Yang and Fei Zhao who give the sets, decor, and cast the room to shine while framing everything beautifully.
The new 4K restoration here is beautiful as well, giving the film’s already well-done images the finish they need. The new restoration does not overdo it and keeps some of the grain from the film used back in the day, while giving the viewer a high-quality viewing experience. The sound here is great (and likely even better on a proper surround sound system), giving the music and the opera singing the right space to be heard.
Raise the Red Lantern is a beautiful and sad take on the lives of concubines and how they, in this case, fought without hitting each other, how they worked to keep the attention of their shared husband on themselves. It’s a period piece that is well-crafted all around with the new restoration giving the film that extra oomph that will allow it to find new audiences.
Gong Li’s performance as Songlian really stood out to me — the way she moves from quiet defiance to calculated survival feels so layered, especially against Zhang Yimou’s beautifully controlled visuals. I also loved how the lantern ritual says so much without words, turning a household custom into a symbol of power and favoritism. Do you think the new 4K restoration changes how that color and lighting lands for first-time viewers compared with older prints?